Technology

The Walkonomics app will help you find more scenic walking routes along tree-lined streets (and avoid the dreary ones)

Walkonomics is an app that wants you to take the more scenic route. The app will find attractive, beautiful streets for your route, rather than the most direct way to go. The app is build using government Open Data and OpenStreetMap, and currently includes walkability ratings for over 700,000 streets and footpaths in New York, San Francisco, and England.

PWRSPRK is a mobile charging solution that can be used by Android and iPhone users to charge and swap batteries

Isn’t it such a hassle when you still need to go somewhere and your battery has already run out of juice? What about watching a movie on your mobile phone only for it to be cut short due to empty battery? Battery problems can now be one less daily issue to worry about. PWRSPRK is a handy mobile charger that allows users to always have juice wherever they are and whenever they need it.

The ENKO running shoes adjust to the weight of its owner, help to prevent common injuries associated with high impact and poor running form

Conserving all the energy stored in each of your strides, Christian Freschi’s ENKO running shoes deliver powerful performance with maximal comfort. Outfitting the heel of his shoe with patented spring-loaded tech, Freschi’s engineering promises an optimized run for any weight or shoe size.

Use your hands and Leap Motion to play a most-epic game of Rock, Paper, Scissors

Leap Motion has created a virtual reality (VR) controller to track the movement of user’s hands as they play games. The test case for this pairing of Oculus Rift with motion tracker Image Hands was a game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors” between players on different continents. With this proof of concept operating successfully, adapting the technology to recognize and incorporate other gestures is only a matter of time.

Operate your business almost entirely through your smartphone screen thanks to Vertical Matters

Vertical Matters is startup that can cut business paperwork by 95-plus percent, offering holistic solutions so you can do your job on five inches of touchscreen. This means no more piles of printed matter and more on-the-go work, given your office virtually fits on the palm of your hand.

Nemo's Garden creates miniature biospheres in a standard aquarium, pointing to a future full of sea-based farming

Ocean Reef Group is working on a sea-based alternative to dry-land agriculture through their Nemo’s Garden project which creates self-contained biospheres below the ocean’s surface. They have recently opened a Kickstarter campaign for a miniaturized version people can keep in their homes. It’s their hope this campaign will raise awareness of what they’re trying to do, and the environmental issues that are making it necessary.

In a recent quarrel with the law, Amazon Prime is seeking reforms so as to roll out its newest retail operation

Having planned to carry out a drone delivery service since 2013, Amazon Prime is only now seeing its vision for the future of distribution slowly coming into fruition. Following restrictions by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test its drones, a change this March in the organization’s policies has permitted Prime to take the drones for a spin outdoors, under conditions that the drones never leave the pilot’s sight and only operate during daytime.

Density is a sensor and app that measures establishment population data and shares it in real-time via the cloud

The densification of cities, or lack there of, is a hot topic right now. As our population grows, the demographic makeup of our cities will change, and the way we live will be affected. But there has been less talk about the crowding nature of the spaces within the places we live. That’s all starting to change thanks to Density, a small sensor that measures the real-time population of places like cafés, bars, gyms, and retail centers.

Tender is Tinder for food lovers—swipe left and right for food you fancy or not

For the foodies out there, this application may just be a game-changer. No more scouring the Web for the best food recipes you can get your hands on. Now, all you need is Tender and you’ve got the best recipes in the palm of your hands. Tender is Tinder for food, which means that using the app is as simple as swiping left and right until you find your night’s perfect match.

Apple hopes to make our connection with our information-sensitive devices more personal with facial recognition tech

The selfie loving star may soon be able to unlock her Apple mobile products with facial recognition software, according to reports. But the proposed security feature is not just for reality TV stars or fans of a sultry face grab. Steamrolling over the Eyeprint ID by ZTE, Apple’s latest patent shows that all iDevice users might soon be able to unlock their device using a new facial scan technology.

Designed to fit over any mother-to-be's tummy, the Ritmo Pregnancy Audio Belt will have 20-week-olds growing with the womb

Fact: a 20-week-old unborn baby can already hear sounds outside the womb. Another: when a fetus hears a sound, it reacts to that particular sound by moving. It is safe to say that sounds help support the brain growth of an unborn child. This concept is what drove Nuvo Group to create Ritmo, the pregnancy audio belt that will allow every mom to give her baby the gift of sounds and music.